Where I Belong
by Miireng
Summary: "Let's go, Naru!" Oh yeah, the Hunter exam… She stood and dusted her pants before running after the exuberant boy. Before she could go far, she looked back and grinned at Mito-san and shouted, "Thanks for everything, Mito-san!" before chasing Gon.
1. Prologue

Hi, I guess. Been a long time. I don't think I'll be updating this for weeks. I'm trying to work through my issues for the moment. Sorry... till then, enjoy, I guess? ;;

-I own nothing- - also unbetaed -

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Prologue

The sun was setting, painting the village with an autumn glow and gradually turning the temperature into cooling. Adults laughed and imbibed, gossiping or just enjoying the breeze. Children stayed outside and played to their hearts content. Everything seemed peaceful until the door to the Hokage's office was slammed to open and Jiraiya entered.

"Jiraiya," The Hokage said calmly, "what brings you here? Have you gathered more information pertaining to the mysterious Uchiha who attacked Kushina and Minato?" He asked as he puffed his tobacco and stared transfixed through the window. Jiraiya couldn't see his sensei's face but his tone made the Sannin's hands curl into fists.

"You know why I'm here, sensei," He said darkly, "or did you think I wouldn't find out?" Jiraiya continued to glare at his sensei and he was struggling to remain calm. The way his sensei spoke non-plussed and nonchalantly, as though nothing occurred, struck the Sannin badly and it frayed his remaining self-control.

"Why?!" Jiraiya harshly whispered. "Why didn't you send me a messenger bird and tell me to come over? I had to find out the damn information myself." Jiraiya seethed and Sarutobi-sensei finally turned around.

At his sensei's continued silence, Jiraiya reared back as though hit by an invisible force. "You didn't want me to know," He said oddly and eyes widened before narrowing into slits,"How dare you, they're my godchildren – you had no right -!" He shouted as his blood boiled and a myriad of emotion bursted from his chest. Guilt, fear, worry, sadness, and anger. So much anger. It was cloying to feel, and toward his village leader no less. But Jiraiya didn't care and continued to fire accusation per accusation to the man. Sarutobi-sensei seemed to age before his very eyes.

"Jiraiya – I –," The Hokage haltingly said, "I never meant for this to happen. I see them as my own grandchildren." Jiraiya scoffed and grit his teeth.

"If you did, this wouldn't have happened!" Jiraiya slammed his hands on Sarutobi-sensei's desk.

"I can hardly control the villager's actions, Jiraiya! Believe me when I say that if I could, they wouldn't have done that to them, and they twins would still be innocent of this world's cruelty!" He said angrily and was simultaneously deflated of all anger at once.

"You did have control of their actions, sensei," Jiraiya closed his eyes, for once unable to stand the sight of his sensei. Not right now. "If you hadn't declared them as the Kyuubi's new Jinchuuriki, they would live a normal life and be normal children like Minato and Kushina would've wanted. But you - ," Jiraiya shook his head and turned his back from his sensei.

"Jiraiya - ," Sarutobi-sensei said and Jiraiya sighed.

"I can't even stand looking at you right now, sensei," He said with a dull tone, "I'll be taking them with me and raising them as they should've been raised. As I should've done long ago." The Hokage's eyes widened.

"But what about your spy network?" He asked, desperate and sad. Jiraiya shook his head. He can't keep the kids here or they might die.

"I can manage it just fine. I could've done so long ago. I should've done it. And if I can't, maybe I'll look for Tsunade," He said with his back still turned before glancing at his sensei one last time, "I'll contact you when I have more information about Minato and Kushina's murderer. Until then, don't send a messenger hawk after me." And he left, taking with him Naruto and Hangaku; leaving Konohagakure behind as the sun set fully in the horizon and setting a whole new course of events in motion. Events that would shake the world to its core.


	2. Chapter 1 - Journey to A New World

Naruto was stood atop a cliff overlooking the ocean. The wind whipped through her, and sent her pigtails fluttering in the gale. Her eyes were focused on something from the distance, but she found it difficult as the fog hindered her from seeing no further than the fierce whirlpools scattered randomly in the waters surrounding Uzushiogakure no Sato.

Naruto grinned. She'd been planning for this exhibition for the longest time and seeing one of the legacies of her ancestry made her happy… although, the thought of their annihilation in the Second Shinobi World War dampened her spirits a bit. Well, she was glad to have gathered a fair number of Uzumaki clansmen into Konoha, including her twin sister, thus making the Uzumaki Clan active once again.

She'd been busy, gathering up as many Uzumaki as she could find and integrating them into Konoha while traveling with Ero-sennin; unlocking the sealed Uzumaki clan grounds to give them a place to live peacefully. She chuckled fondly as she remembered some of her rowdy kid-cousins. It was time for Konoha to open their doors to them after a long time.

"Are you gonna keep standing there or what?" Her sister, Hangaku, the jinchuuriki of the Yang counterpart of Kurama, asked. Naruto hummed and sent her a mischievous grin.

"Race you there!" With a determined glint in her eyes, Naruto cracked her knuckles and sprinted forward, landing on the water's surface with a splash and heading towards the island in the distance. She heard the steady staccato of feet behind her and knew that her sister was not far behind. Hangaku has always been competitive, and like her, also fairly unpredictable.

They made it there in good time and without further mishaps aside from Naruto accidentally slipping into a vortex and getting sucked in. It wouldn't have been a big deal, Naruto puffed her cheeks, if not for the massive Kraken underneath the depths. Who knew Uzumaki kept those awesome animals as pets. She definitely had to get one for Konoha.

With those fantasies in mind, Hangaku didn't waste time in sending her a look. "We are not taking the Kraken to Konoha." She said with a hand on her hip and slightly jostling her sealing scroll strapped across her back.

"Why the hell not? That guy was awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, waving her arms and giving her sister a mock mournful look that the other didn't buy for even a bit. Damn it, she was immune. Naruto has to up her game somehow.

"Because the big guy wouldn't have a place to live in, stupid." Hangaku laughed and Naruto rolled her eyes. She knew that but there were many training grounds in Konoha as well as water element specialists. They could've found a way. Still…

Whatever, Naruto huffed and looked around. The place was deserted and the damage was immeasurable. There were multitudes of signs of skirmishes from times long past. Broken seals littered the ground and everywhere else. What were once homes and shops were caved in and there was immense water damage all around. Nothing seemed salvageable at first glance.

Sharing a look with her sister, Naruto trudged on, and was careful not to step on random seals. Her apprenticeship with Ero-sennin has taught her a lot and one of those things were that seals could function even after the death of its creator.

Her footsteps echoed eerily in the silence of the abandoned village and she covered her face as wind whipped about, sending dust everywhere and made her scrunch her face a bit. With furrowed brows, she surveyed everything more keenly, feeling as though every bit of damage and dried blood staining the ground was weighing heavily on her chest somehow. Psychosomatic, Tsunade-baa-chan would say, but she preffered to say that it was empathy. It was the grounds of her clansmen, and she would most likely have grown up here had they not been annihilated by Kumo, Iwa and who knows whatever village. But past is past and hate breeds even more hate. There was no use to hate people long dead and their villages.

One thing was for sure, Naruto noticed, Uzu was incredibly advanced. The infrastracture appeared to be similar to the present Konoha, and as she entered a few homes that were intact, their interior and tech was also in line to the present day. Thinking about how much change they would have achieved had they lived sent a pang through her chest and she shook her head, resolved not to be so negative about these things.

She had a legacy to explore.

Eventually, her wandering led her to a temple that appeared to be the most intact of all the buildings in the village. She narrowed her eyes at the seal decorating the building. It was faint and fine but she could see every nuance of it. With a gasp, she realized that it was a blood seal and without further ado, bit her thumb and slid it on the side of the massive double doors. The seal glowed before settling down and the door opened with a harsh sound.

Without hesitation, she passed through the threshold and peered around. The darkness of her surroundings made it slightly difficult but when she channeled her chakra from her eyes, she saw more clearly that even the interior was in great condition. She went around and entered the rooms, gradually collecting scrolls and reading documents like nobody's business. Hours passed and she was eventually joined by her sister who looked just as excited as she looked around.

"I know, right? Everything is in good condition like nothing happened!" Naruto exclaimed. Hangaku nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, I've been looking around. This place is awesome! There is so much history here.." She gushed and Naruto laughed, feeling her excitement as much as she was.

"Let's look around some more. Here," Naruto handed her a scroll about the Uzukage and the other devoured it with her eyes widening every second.

"Wow," She breathed out and Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

They went on every room and eventually entered a room that appeared to be a library with its many scrolls lying on the ground. They put as much scrolls in their multi-storage seals as much as they could. Ahh-ing and wow-ing at every technique before moving on to a different room. Eventually, Hangaku removed the scroll across her shoulders and stored it in the seal on a black band tied around her wrist. Naruto did the same but stored her scroll in her orange anklet.

The atmosphere here was different. Naruto shivered and tension appeared in her shoulders. The place creeped her out. It didn't help that the eerie sealing lights were only glowing faintly to suggest they were there. Suddenly, Naruto yelped as she stumbled against something. When she looked down, she screamed in shock.

"What the – are you alright?!" Hangaku burst into the room and demanded, her gaze whipping around and trying to find a threat. Naruto shook her head and pointed at the ground. Hangaku blinked. Silence reigned once more in the room and they stared at each other mournfully. It was the remains of a man in a kage robe, rendered to bone and ash.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed before noticing something, "and look, he has a piece of paper in his hand," she said before saying sorry and reading the letter.

 _To whomever will read this,_

 _Whoever you may be, if you are reading this then I have already died. The time has come for me to embrace my mortality and enter the world in which I had been hindered in entering for a long time. Death has come to take me, but the legacy of the Uzumaki shall continue on._

 _Forgive me. I, who had been in a position to stop the invasion, could not accomplish it. I have failed you, fellow clansman. There is nothing in this Earth that can convince me that I am not an utter failure. But I have provided a technique in this room that may help us all in changing the past, changing our future. The future of the Uzumaki clan. By the time you finish reading this, the sealing array will have activated and I will perhaps see you in the future. If not, then forgive me once again for sending you on a perilous journey that may very well end to your death._

 _I wish you a successful journey._

 _Respectfully yours,_

 _Uzumaki Atsui_

 _Sandaime Uzukage_

Naruto and Hangaku's eyes widened and they stared other before uttering the same word. "Shite," Dread filled her stomach and she stiffened. The world turned white and everything spun, sending Naruto to the ground as she lost her footing and toppled forward. She hit the ground with a harsh slam and she winced before opening her eyes. The sight of a large bookshelf falling toward her in slow motion made her gasp and in sheer shock, she fell unconscious.

The sound of seagulls cawing in the distance and the bright sunlight seeping through her closed lids woke her up with a wince. With a dull groan, Naruto lifted a hand against her face to block off the light. However, the sensation of soft bedding and comforters made her abruptly sit up from her place in the unfamiliar bed. She winced as her head exploded in pain and she grasped it with both hands.

"Fuck," She swore as memories of the past few hours flooded her mind. The glowing sealing array and the disorienting motion of the room as it spun on its axis and sent her and Hangaku sprawling on the ground; the bookshelf heading toward her. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Hangaku!" She shouted and looked around, only to come up empty and bereft of a twin sister. With a pang, she realized that she may have indeed traveled to the past, if the sight of the completely organized room and the equally peaceful environment visible through the small window was any indication. But if that was true, then shouldn't she be in a room similar to what she and her sister were in, only in better condition? Panic seized her and she stood to rush to the door only for it to open and cause her to bump into someone, sending her to the ground. She was starting to see a theme here…

"Ow," A boy, with spiky black hair and bright brown eyes, uttered with a pout. Naruto glared and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Who are you and where am I?" She asked as her hands curled into fists and she sprung to a relaxed kata, ready to fight if necessary.

The boy blinked and beamed happily. "You're awake!" He exclaimed and stood up. When she said nothing in response, he tilted his head. "Eh, ano, you're in Whale Island and this is my room." He said with an unflappable smile. What the hell?

"How did I get here?" She couldn't help but ask. Surely this wasn't where she first turned up.

The boy went to what was apparently his bed and sat cross-legged. Naruto blushed, remembering that she lay in it comfortably only a minute ago. "I found you on the shore and you were in bad shape," the boy frowned and crossed his arms in a thinking pose, "I took you home and Mito-obaa-san fixed you up. It was pretty bad but I was excited to meet someone new. And," he laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "my name is Gon. Gon Freecs. Nice to meet'cha!" He beamed and offered her a hand.

She looked at his hand and the innocent smile on his face. He exuded the aura of someone innocent and pure. And he didn't seem to be lying either. Eh, why the hell not? Grinning, Naruto shook his hand and said, "The name's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. The future Hokage!" She declared and the boy returned her smile.

"That sounds so cool!" He exclaimed, "But what's a Hokage?" He asked with a wondering look in his eyes. Naruto blinked and looked at the boy keenly.

"Um, before that, did you see a girl who looked similar to me but with orange hair? As long as here," she gestured up to her waist and the boy hummed with a thoughtful look.

"I didn't see anyone else, sorry," the boy apologised and offered, "I could look for her for you?" Naruto smiled and her chest tightened. She used to be like that too.

Closing her eyes, Naruto flared her chakra in a familiar pattern but no matter what she did, she couldn't sense her sister nor could she feel the tell-tale response that Hangaku did whenever she flared her chakra.

There was not a one ping. None at all.

She reopened her eyes and looked at the hopeful boy with a sad smile. Naruto shook her head and the boy's smile fell but came up again.

"She might be here still, ya know? I can look for her!" He insisted and Naruto sighed. It was a nice thought but…

"She's my twin, you know… I can't feel her anywhere and I usually can," Tears sprung in her eyes but she rubbed them away determinedly. She couldn't afford to cry not when she knew that her twin was someplace else. If Hangaku was here, she'd take one look at her and call her an 'aho' before hugging the stuffing out of her.

She missed her already. And she just woke up.

Naruto remembered way back when they were five years old. They used to play with each other all the time. They were each other's own playmate. Nobody wanted to play with 'demons,' Naruto mused, and often they cordoned themselves in an isolated section of the playground. It was only when Hinata Hyuuga approached them after Hangaku and she saved the heiress from some bullies. From then, they thought things would get better. One step towards a brighter future. Naruto smiled sadly.

Things had gone gradually from bad to worse until Hangaku and Naruto hit the age of seven. On that day of their birthday, Naruto made the mistake of wanting to go outside. The bright lanterns and joyful laughter floating towards their bedroom window attracted her so enticingly back then. If she'd known what would happen she never would have gone outside. Her sister, not wanting to be left out and not knowing any better, went with her.

They were cornered in an alley way before they could even go to the village center. They started with cruel taunts and jeers, their eyes glowing malevolently; their breaths smelling of alcohol. When Naruto remained brave and stood on the spot before her sister, the drunkards began hitting them with broken alcohol bottles and beat them within an inch of their lives. One even had the grand-awful idea to start unbuckling his belt as the others followed suit… If it wasn't for ANBU Inu, Naruto shuddered at what would've happened. Or what could've been.

She could still remember it but faintly, as happy memories of her dysfunctional family and their travels all but covered up all the bad memories of that night.

Anyway, she's here now in Whale Island and maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to get back home and find her twin in the process.

With that goal fueling her in mind, she turned to Gon and smiled at him determinedly.

"Now tell me," Naruto began, "What _can_ we do in Whale Island?" Gon grinned and began telling her everything.

Weeks passed and days in Whale Island were peaceful in ways that islands back in her homeland rarely ever were. Days spent in the Freecs household were different from what Naruto was used to, that was for damn sure. It was set in an idyllic setting and there never seemed to be an end to all the chores that can be done. It reminded Naruto of home but different. She never knew what it was like to have a stationary home. Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baa along with Shizune-san and Ton-Ton were always in motion. She and Hangaku were never in a single place for a long time.

It was nice here but she longed for the people she grew up with, her precious people and knowing that her sister was equally as lost as her, filled her with anxiousness and even more determination to get home.

At the moment, they were in the lake that was home to the notorious Lord of the Lake. According to the villagers, the creature was the size of a whale. Not that Naruto's ever seen one. It sounded cool though but dangerous as hell if nobody had ever caught it for twenty years since Gon's father, Ging Freecs, had done.

Mito-san told the boy that if he caught the beast, she would let Gon and in extension, Naruto, participate in the deadly exams. Naruto has been hearing many things about it and she couldn't wait. It sounded like a way to get back home. There was no doubt about it. She wanted to go!

"Yatta!" At Gon's elated exclaim, Naruto looked up from the scroll she was practicing calligraphy from and saw him jump towards her. Her eyes widened and she hurriedly stored her scroll in her pouch before the fresh water ruined it. Scrolls here were damn expensive.

"Naru, Naru!" He excitedly said as he lifted up the massive whale of a fish with both arms above his head. Naruto could only stare with wide eyes. So that's how large a whale is like. She shook her head. Nope, still there. By god was it a huge fish or what. She said so and Gon nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I know! I can't wait to show it to Mito-obaa!" He said and ran off. Naruto shrugged and sprinted after him with a fond smile. Only three weeks here and Gon has already burrowed into her heart and stayed there. He was an endearing boy and was what a little brother would be like if she had one.

Oh well. Naruto passed by many homes and stalls until she reached the port where Mito-san and a crowd of people were congregating. There was a sound of commotion and awe as the villagers surveyed the massive fish. It could fit several – no – many people inside it. And wasn't that a scary thought.

The murmurs of the people filled the port and Gon was facing his aunt with a determined look. "Can I take the Hunter exam, Mito-obaa? Naruto will be with me too!" Mito-san stared at Gon with seemingly unreadable eyes but Naruto could see the sadness, worry, and resignation within them. It must kill her inside to be separated from Gon like this. Even if she wasn't his mother, she raised him from birth and was never far from him. Gon was lucky to have Mito-san as his adopted mother, Naruto realized with a pang. She wondered if her own mother would've been like that had she been alive.

She sighed. There was no use thinking about it.

Gon took Mito-san's silence as acceptance and beamed. When the day for the examination came, Naruto waited outside the house and surveyed the surroundings with a sad yet fond sigh. She'd miss this place. Suddenly, Gon called for her and she stirred from her stupor and glanced at him with a questioning look.

"Let's go, Naru!" Oh yeah, the Hunter exam… She stood and dusted her pants before running after the exuberant boy. Before she could go far, she looked back and grinned at Mito-san and shouted, "Thanks for everything, Mito-san!" before chasing Gon. She never did hear the older woman tell Naruto to call her Mito-obaa.


End file.
